A Hometown Legacy for Former Gators Star Brantley
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
OCALA, Fla. – The plastic folding chair was nowhere as kind to his 60-year-old body as the plush oversized recliner that Scot Brantley spends much of his time in at home these days.
In between squirms, Brantley got up more than once Tuesday night for relief, usually with assistance from his wife Mary.
"Mary is an angel,'' said Brantley's sister, Kim. "It is what it is. She takes care of him."
Nearly 40 years since his last game for the Gators – his college career ended prematurely due to a concussion early in the 1979 season when he was knocked unconscious during a game and team doctors recommended he stop playing football – Brantley is a physical wreck.
Seven vertebrae in his neck are fused together. Same for much of his lower back. His thoracic spine (middle of back) is troublesome, too. Brantley has had hip replacement surgery and needs a knee replacement.
He's lost count of the number of surgical procedures over the years other than it's well into double figures. The rigors of the game that made him famous, like many players of his generation, have left him battered.
Still, when mental clarity is accessible and with his trademark southern drawl, Brantley can find humor to ease the pain. He shared a quip from a friend as he prepared to leave the Ocala Quarterback Club's meeting on Tuesday.
"With all your ailments, you need a full-time nurse,'' Brantley said the man told him.
His response: "I married one."
The reason for the visit with Brantley on Tuesday was a new award the Ocala Quarterback Club is sponsoring: The Scot Brantley Trophy. Brantley is scheduled to present the award to the inaugural winner next spring.
The standards are high considering Brantley is Ocala's own, a two-time state champion at Forest High who was also good enough at baseball that the New York Mets used a sixth-round pick on him in the 1976 MLB amateur draft. Of course, Brantley signed with the Gators and still ranks second on the school's all-time tackles list (467) as one of the most physical players to ever step foot on Florida Field.
A member of the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame, Brantley resumed his career in the NFL and played eight more seasons (1980-87) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, no less the ferocious hitter than he was at UF.
If you are too young to recall when he played, YouTube offers a glimpse.
In a press release, the Ocala Quarterback Club states these as the criteria to determine the winner of the Brantley Trophy, with players from six North Central Florida counties eligible: on-field excellence, academics, leadership, athleticism, commitment and recommitment, faith, goal orientation, character and conscience.
Mary has talked with her husband several times about the significance of the honor in his name. Some days, he seems to grasp what the fuss is all about. Others, he simply asks "why me?"
"I didn't grow up in Ocala, but Scot has an Ocala legacy,'' she said. "He's really touched. This is his whole family. All these people have loved him since he was a grade-schooler, really. It's just very special for him. It's probably one of his favorite awards."
An enthusiastic crowd of more than a 150 turned out Tuesday at a bank in the heart of town on Silver Springs Boulevard, in part to show appreciation for Brantley and also to hear Megan Mullen, wife of Gators head coach Dan Mullen, speak to the group.
John Brantley, Scot's brother who played quarterback for the Gators at the same time his brother starred at linebacker, was there. So was their mom and other family members.
Scot Brantley made national headlines three months ago when he revealed he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease on an episode of HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." Brantley was first diagnosed with dementia in 2012.
Mary told HBO that the NFL has denied his claim for assistance from the settlement it reached after retired players started to report alarming high rates of brain-related diseases.
A segment in the show that drew the most attention was when Brantley struggled to remember his age, saying he was 50 years old. Mary reminded him that he is actually 10 years older.
When I showed up and took a seat next to Brantley at Tuesday's event, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, it was a good day for Brantley.
He was alert and in good spirits overall.
"I didn't realize the magnitude [of what this means],'' he said. "I was blown away."
As the sun began to set outside, Brantley limped toward the exit with Mary by his side. Wife. Confidant. Nurse. In a life full of teammates for Brantley, she is now his most important.
A short while earlier, as he shuffled in the plastic chair to find comfort, Brantley offered an unprompted examination of his life station.
"If you believe in what you pray for, I really believe it comes true,'' he said. "I felt like that when I played and I feel that way now."
Here's a prayer that Brantley has more days like Tuesday on the road ahead.
